Faculty in the News
In the News
Church a factor in sentencing
Publication date: April 3, 2010
Source: The Associated Press
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An article by the Associated Press on the sentencing of Scott Roeder, the man convicted of murdering Wichita abortion provider George Tiller, to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years quoted Richard Levy, the J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Law.
The Associated Press wrote:
Judges historically have a lot of discretion in sentencing, and it's permissible for them to consider the context of a crime and its impact, said Richard Levy, a law professor at the University of Kansas.
Levy also said he didn't think an appeals court would overturn the sentence because Wilbert didn't make any explicit references to religion in his ruling.
"It is not because the church has some particular status as hallowed ground per se," Levy said. "But the aggravation is the collateral damage that is being caused to people who are at the church in the disruption of their spirituality."